wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “donation forms”
wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →
For “donation forms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.
wp.org search ranks on
Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.
We add
A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 259 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #1 2 
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 4 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388)
wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 
Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 3 too high 11 
SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259)
wp.org #23 ↑1 11 too low 13 
Donorbox – Free Recurring Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 8K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 
AidWP – Donation & Payment Forms (Stripe Powered) 800+ · 4.8★ (28)
wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 
Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
FundEngine – Donation and Crowdfunding Platform 1K+ · 4.2★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 
Accept Donations with PayPal & Stripe 10K+ · 3.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓6 1 too high 20 
Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 
Cognito Forms 2K+ · 4.0★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #21 22 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑4 13 too high 23 
GoFundMe Pro | Nonprofit Donation Forms 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 
Very Simple PayPal Donation Form 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.